The men's fencing team boasts a wealth of young talent, as five of the nine starting bouters at the NYU meet this past weekend were freshmen. Moreover, the rookies were staking a claim for more spotlight: freshman sabre Thomas Abend led Princeton's victory over UNC with an undefeated 3-0 record. Freshman epee Edward Hurme also went 3-0 against host NYU, though his efforts were overshadowed by the Violets' victory over the Orange and Black.
The frosh had also shone earlier in November in the their first competition, the Garret Open at Penn State. In the foil, freshman Clayton Flanders made the second-best finish (15th overall) of the Tigers, behind only the team captain, senior Alejandro Bras (10th).
In the sabre, Princeton's top three finishes all came from freshmen, as Paul Boswell, Abend, and Gregory Hohensee finished 21st, 22nd and 27th respectively. Freshman Steven Liss followed with 42nd.
Overall, the squad of freshmen is made up of six fencers. Abend, who leads the group, graduated from Concord Carlisle and is from Carlisle, Mass. He was the 2005 high school state champion in the sabre in his state.
Boswell graduated from Marquette High School and hails from St. Louis, Mo. He is also in the sabre squad and was a two-time Fed Challenge national finalist.
Flanders graduated from Buckingham Browne & Nichols and is from Lexington, Mass. He also won a state fencing title as a senior in the foil.
Gregory Hohensee is a graduate of Nashua and hails from Nashua, N.H. His weapon is the sabre, and he has two siblings — junior Douglas and Kira '06 — whose tradition he follows as a Tiger fencer. Douglas is on the foil squad, and Kira was an epeeist.
Hurme graduated from Keystone and is from San Antonio, Texas. Hurme, also carries on a family tradition as the third to attend Princeton and as the second fencer. His brother Tommi is a junior and was one of three Tigers to reach NCAAs last year.
The final freshman, Steven Liss, is a graduate of Thayer Academy from Hull, Mass. He is one of four freshmen sabres and is a versatile athlete, having also competed in track in high school as a sprinter and jumper.
Bonding as a team
The freshmen shoulder much responsibility, especially in the sabre squad, where they account for nearly half of the nine athletes. But the atmosphere seems to be great in the locker room, and so far the pressure situations have helped the freshmen come together as a team.
These pressure situations are all part and parcel of the rebuilding process, as Princeton has seen a new head coach at the helm and two new assistant coaches hired in the past year. The freshmen are aware of it, and they thrive on it.
"The most exciting thing about Princeton fencing is the feeling that the program is just starting to rebuild," Abend said. "Not to slight the upperclassmen at all, but this year we have an all new coaching staff, a host of strong freshman and potential recruits and a general feeling that with the work ethic of the new coaches and the talent we have and will get, by our senior year we could be looking at a team that doesn't just have a chance to win the Ivy League title but a chance to win the NCAAs."
The freshmen are also enjoying training with the new coaches. The sabre coach, with whom four of the six freshmen train, is known to be very tough.
"His 30-minute lessons are easily more difficult than the daily two-hour practices, and he's demanding," Abend said. "But it's good to know your coach is dedicated."
The men's fencing team faces a bright future with these rising talents, who are confident of their capabilities, and rightly so.
"I can't speak for all the other freshmen, but I am definitely better than everyone else on the team," Hurme said.
It seems he was speaking for the rest of the team, as Abend echoed, "We are definitely better than the '09s, but I'll give the '08s and '07s some seniority props."
Responding to the sentiments of these precocious youngsters, Bras said, "At least the freshmen make up for in confidence what they obviously lack in experience and skill."
The fencing team has its their next competition in February at Philadelphia in the Ivy "South" Competition.
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